FEATURE Por Venezuela: UF students gather supplies for the...
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We Inform. You Decide. www.alligator.org Not officially associated with the University of Florida Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida VOLUME 111 ISSUE 44 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 Florida soccer team shuts out ‘Bama 6-0 Melanie Monteagudo scored off a header in the 36th minute, pg. 14 Winn-Dixie donates 250 Gator football tickets They were given to families at the Ronald McDonald House, pg. 5 UF freshman application deadline pushed back Applications are now due Nov. 4, pg. 5 State officials push for increased online classes They hope to have 40 percent of undergraduate credits completed online by 2025, pg. 4 By Robyn Wilbar Alligator Contributing Writer Once a year for the past 25 years, Steve Perry looks for bubble trails in the water: a sign that an alligator is nearby. During Florida’s two-and-a-half- month alligator-hunting season, the Gainesville resident gathers a group of friends and scours state and county lakes for the reptiles, hunt- ing them and selling their hides to make a living. In March, he turned his passion into a legitimate business, starting a Gainesville-based online retailer, Perry’s Alligator Products, and be- coming one of several Floridians who profit from the alligator hunt. So far this season, which spans from Aug. 15 to Nov. 1, Perry has caught 22 alligators throughout the state and Alachua County, which he will sell to high-paying leather pro- cessors. “When we sell our leather hides, we have people that will take the high-quality ones and sell them to high-end designers” the 47-year-old said. “The high-end designers will then turn them into handbags that sell upwards of $45,000.” In 1988, to sustainably control rebounding alligator populations, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Con- servation Commission enacted the alligator-hunting season, which al- lows hunters to take two alligators per permit. Steve Stiegler, a wildlife biologist for the FWC alligator management program, said permits are in high de- mand, so they’re closely regulated. Last year, the commission received 24,000 applications, only approving 6,000. This year, 6,128 permits were issued, he said. “All the permits are the same ‘This is how I make my living:’ A look at Florida’s annual alligator hunt SEE ALLIGATOR, PAGE 4 By Jasmine Osmond Alligator Staff Writer After a Facebook event for Flor- ida Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schul- tz’s appearance in Gainesville today was posted, Bernie Sanders support- ers began planning a protest. Wasserman-Schultz, the former chair of the Democratic National Committee, is scheduled to attend a 7 p.m. volunteer training session at Gainesville Police headquarters, located at 545 NW Eighth Ave., ac- cording to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign website. Many voters who had backed Sanders’ run for the presidency voiced outrage at the DNC email hack in July, which appeared to show that the committee attempted to undermine Sanders’ campaign against Clinton. Grant Schwab, a 21-year-old UF political science senior, said he will join in the protest. He said he was upset that Alachua County for Hill- ary pulled the Facebook event page down and removed Wasserman- Schultz’s name, which he consid- ered an attempt to suppress critics’ voices. On Thursday morning, the event disappeared from the Gators 4 Hill- ary page, later replaced with an RSVP link where prospective volun- teers can sign up for the event. “She will still be there and, to the best of my knowledge, we will still be there to greet her,” Schwab said. “It’s important to be diplomatic and show her the courtesy that we were not shown.” Jake Best, the president of Gators 4 Hillary, which is co-organizing the event, said he is aware of the pro- test and that there will be no added security. “I would hope that no one would protest at this point,” he said. “It’s important not to protest her or what happened in the past and to work towards the future.” @jawosmond [email protected] Sanders supporters to protest Wasserman-Schultz’s Gainesville visit By Melissa Gomez Alligator Staff Writer It is the malnourished people in the streets whom Camila Gar- cia, 23, remembers from when she visited her home country of Ven- ezuela. Food on the shelves was scarce, and inflation made it difficult to buy food, she said. The people were skinnier than she remem- bered. That was in August. After visiting her family, the UF economics senior said she came back more determined to help. “We need to do something about this,” she told the president of Vensa, a student organization that helps incoming students adapt to American culture. “We have so much potential here.” In response to the crisis in Ven- ezuela, Vensa partnered with other organizations and local businesses to host weeklong events to gather medical supplies, nonperishable food and daily necessities to send to Venezuela. As of press time, the group had collected about $1,200 in donations as well as boxes of food and personal-hygiene prod- ucts. From March 2015 to 2016, the price of basic necessities for a fam- ily of five has gone up 524 percent, according to The Washington Post. The country has seen high infla- tion of goods due to a political, economic and humanitarian crisis. Ignacio Bravo, the president of Vensa, left Venezuela when he was 16. His family moved to Argentina about five years ago, leaving be- hind the streets they no longer felt safe walking down. When he lived in Venezuela, Bravo said he remembers only be- Por Venezuela: UF students gather supplies for the country A SONG FOR VENEZUELA Max Chesnes / Alligator Staff Simon Grossman, a 21-year-old UF telecommunication senior, performs “Te Invito”, a song from his upcoming album, at Omi’s Tavern during the open-mic night, which was hosted by Vensa. People donated food and medical supplies to send to Venezuela. SEE VENEZUELA, PAGE 9 FEATURE
Transcript of FEATURE Por Venezuela: UF students gather supplies for the...
We Inform. You Decide. www.alligator.org
Not officially associated with the University of Florida Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida
VOLUME 111 ISSUE 44 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016
Florida soccer team shuts out ‘Bama 6-0Melanie Monteagudo scored off a header in the 36th minute, pg. 14
Winn-Dixie donates 250 Gator football ticketsThey were given to families at the Ronald McDonald House, pg. 5
UF freshman application deadline pushed backApplications are now due Nov. 4, pg. 5
State offi cials push for increasedonline classesThey hope to have 40 percent of undergraduatecredits completed online by 2025, pg. 4
By Robyn WilbarAlligator Contributing Writer
Once a year for the past 25 years, Steve Perry looks for bubble trails in the water: a sign that an alligator is nearby.
During Florida’s two-and-a-half-month alligator-hunting season, the Gainesville resident gathers a group
of friends and scours state and county lakes for the reptiles, hunt-ing them and selling their hides to make a living.
In March, he turned his passion into a legitimate business, starting a Gainesville-based online retailer, Perry’s Alligator Products, and be-coming one of several Floridians who profi t from the alligator hunt.
So far this season, which spans from Aug. 15 to Nov. 1, Perry has caught 22 alligators throughout the state and Alachua County, which he will sell to high-paying leather pro-cessors.
“When we sell our leather hides, we have people that will take the high-quality ones and sell them to high-end designers” the 47-year-old
said. “The high-end designers will then turn them into handbags that sell upwards of $45,000.”
In 1988, to sustainably control rebounding alligator populations, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Con-servation Commission enacted the alligator-hunting season, which al-lows hunters to take two alligators per permit.
Steve Stiegler, a wildlife biologist for the FWC alligator management program, said permits are in high de-mand, so they’re closely regulated. Last year, the commission received 24,000 applications, only approving 6,000. This year, 6,128 permits were issued, he said.
“All the permits are the same
‘This is how I make my living:’ A look at Florida’s annual alligator hunt
SEE ALLIGATOR, PAGE 4
By Jasmine OsmondAlligator Staff Writer
After a Facebook event for Flor-ida Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schul-tz’s appearance in Gainesville today was posted, Bernie Sanders support-ers began planning a protest.
Wasserman-Schultz, the former chair of the Democratic National Committee, is scheduled to attend
a 7 p.m. volunteer training session at Gainesville Police headquarters, located at 545 NW Eighth Ave., ac-cording to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign website.
Many voters who had backed Sanders’ run for the presidency voiced outrage at the DNC email hack in July, which appeared to show that the committee attempted to undermine Sanders’ campaign
against Clinton.Grant Schwab, a 21-year-old UF
political science senior, said he will join in the protest. He said he was upset that Alachua County for Hill-ary pulled the Facebook event page down and removed Wasserman-Schultz’s name, which he consid-ered an attempt to suppress critics’ voices.
On Thursday morning, the event
disappeared from the Gators 4 Hill-ary page, later replaced with an RSVP link where prospective volun-teers can sign up for the event.
“She will still be there and, to the best of my knowledge, we will still be there to greet her,” Schwab said. “It’s important to be diplomatic and show her the courtesy that we were not shown.”
Jake Best, the president of Gators
4 Hillary, which is co-organizing the event, said he is aware of the pro-test and that there will be no added security.
“I would hope that no one would protest at this point,” he said. “It’s important not to protest her or what happened in the past and to work towards the future.”
@jawosmond
Sanders supporters to protest Wasserman-Schultz’s Gainesville visit
By Melissa GomezAlligator Staff Writer
It is the malnourished people in the streets whom Camila Gar-cia, 23, remembers from when she visited her home country of Ven-ezuela.
Food on the shelves was scarce, and infl ation made it diffi cult to buy food, she said. The people were skinnier than she remem-bered. That was in August.
After visiting her family, the UF economics senior said she came back more determined to help.
“We need to do something about this,” she told the president of Vensa, a student organization that helps incoming students adapt to American culture. “We have so much potential here.”
In response to the crisis in Ven-ezuela, Vensa partnered with other organizations and local businesses
to host weeklong events to gather medical supplies, nonperishable food and daily necessities to send to Venezuela. As of press time, the group had collected about $1,200 in donations as well as boxes of food and personal-hygiene prod-ucts.
From March 2015 to 2016, the price of basic necessities for a fam-ily of fi ve has gone up 524 percent, according to The Washington Post. The country has seen high infl a-tion of goods due to a political, economic and humanitarian crisis.
Ignacio Bravo, the president of Vensa, left Venezuela when he was 16. His family moved to Argentina about fi ve years ago, leaving be-hind the streets they no longer felt safe walking down.
When he lived in Venezuela, Bravo said he remembers only be-
Por Venezuela: UF students gather supplies for the country
A SONG FOR VENEZUELAMax Chesnes / Alligator Staff
Simon Grossman, a 21-year-old UF telecommunication senior, performs “Te Invito”, a song from his
upcoming album, at Omi’s Tavern during the open-mic night, which was hosted by Vensa. People
donated food and medical supplies to send to Venezuela. SEE VENEZUELA, PAGE 9
FEATURE
